Frankfurt’s tram could go as far as Neu-Isenburg and Dreieich in the future. Thousands of commuters would be expected on line 17. A study is now in the starting blocks.
- The extension of the Frankfurt tram to the south has been under discussion for years
- Tram expansion: A study should now discuss the potential of the project
- One thing is already clear: Line 17 would get an additional thousand passengers
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Frankfurt / Neu-Isenburg / Dreieich – In a few years, thousands of commuters from the southern region could travel to Frankfurt by tram. A study is now to clarify how great the potential for this is. The cities of Frankfurt, Neu-Isenburg and Dreieich want to extend tram line 17 from Frankfurt’s city limits from around 5.5 kilometers south to Sprendlingen. It would be the first suburban tram line in Rhein-Main.
Frankfurt: Study on the expansion of trams: “historic moment”
“It is a historic moment,” hisses traffic department head Klaus Oesterling (SPD) when Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD) signs the contract for the jointly funded study with his counterparts from the Offenbach district. “It’s been an issue for 130 years.” The extension of the route on which line 17 is rolling today has been considered since the forest railway rushed to the city limits of Neu-Isenburg. So since 1889. When the first tram goes to Sprendlingen is still open. First of all, the study, which will cost 50,000 euros, should explore the potential by the end of the year. After that, citizens and politicians in all three cities must discuss the result – and then say yes.
It seems indisputable: “The increase in passengers will be significant,” says Tom Reinhold, head of Frankfurt’s local public transport organization Traffiq. He expects “a doubling or more” of the number of passengers. No wonder: “That would be a major improvement in local transport south of Frankfurt,” said Oesterling. So far, there is almost nirvana in local transport south of the Waldbahn terminus. At best, buses roll every 30 minutes, the neighboring cities with around 40,000 inhabitants each are only connected to the S-Bahn on their western edges. At the same time, car traffic is constantly increasing.
Tram extension would not only relieve Frankfurt
Not only does Frankfurt suffer from this: 20,000 vehicles a day roll through the central shopping street, Frankfurter Strasse, in Neu-Isenburg, Mayor Herbert Hunkel (independent) recalls. “The hope of less through traffic would be a strong argument,” said First City Councilor Stefan Schmitt (CDU).
While Frankfurt and Dreieich have long been convinced, the new route in Neu-Isenburg has long been controversial. Already in 1994 a study attested the technical feasibility. However, some fear that parking spaces in Frankfurter Straße will cease to exist, that shops will then be less accessible and that the cityscape will suffer from the overhead line.
Frankfurt: trams could sometimes run without an overhead line
“The tram will tend to strengthen retail,” estimates Klaus Oesterling. He made the offer to the neighbors to also check in the study whether the tram could be run in sections without overhead lines in the historic core areas of the cities. The new T-series cars currently ordered by the city are also available as hybrid vehicles with batteries.
“A catenary-free solution will give the project a positive boost”, Herbert Hunkel is convinced. The CDU, Greens and Free voters had cut through the Gordian knot in Neu-Isenburg when they agreed in their coalition agreement in 2017 on the “in-depth examination” of the tram route. This is now being done and is also intended to find out how the track can be inserted into the “urban space” in a compatible manner.
Extending the tram to the south would be a € 100 million project
This also applies to Dreieich: Contrary to what was previously planned, the tram should not end in the north of Sprendlingen, but at the train station in the south – and thus also offer a link to the Dreieichbahn, explains Dreieichs City Hall chief Martin Burlon (independent). “That will only benefit the region.”
Oesterling anticipates costs of at least 110 million euros – of which the federal and state governments will assume 80 to 90 percent. In view of the federal government’s climate targets, the funding pots are just full, the traffic director rejoices. “This is also the most favorable financing situation for 130 years.”
Expansion of the Frankfurt tram: ideas also for Bad Vilbel and Offenbach
It is not yet clear whether the route to the south will be the first extension of the tram network to the surrounding area. In January a comparable study was started, which provides for an extension of the tram route from Friedberger Landstrasse to Bad Vilbel.
Frankfurt is also under discussion with Offenbach. Here, however, the ideas are not yet identical. The Frankfurt think about the ring closure from Hugo-Junkers-Strasse in Fechenheim via Offenbach market place to Oberrad. Offenbach’s mayor Felix Schwenke (SPD), on the other hand, would rather build an east-west route, some of which is underground.
By Dennis Pfeiffer-Goldmann
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